Page 22 - Presbyterian Connection – Spring 2021

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PRESBYTERIAN
SPRING 2021
presbyterian.ca
Connection
EVENTS & ACTIVITIES
At Forbes Presbyterian Church in Grande Prairie, Alta., the ladies have a bazaar, bake sale and tea every year in November to raise funds to donate to the community. This year that was not possible, so a new project was planned: Tea to Go! The ladies baked cookies and put together colourful bags containing Christmas mugs complete with tea bags, cookies, treats, candy and a Christmas message. In total, 120 bags were sold, and very generous donations were also received. The congregation was very supportive and appreciated having ready-made gifts for friends and family. They are thankful they can continue to help others with their donations again this year!
Middle River (Rocklin) Presbyterian Church and St. Andrew’s (Gairloch) Presbyteri- an Church in Westville, N.S., participated in a Reverse Advent Calendar for the month of November. Each day, one item was set aside for the local food bank. All donations were boxed up and weighed before being loaded into cars. An amazing 602 pounds of food was donated! What a terrific act of kindness from these churches.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Nanaimo, B.C., told the Nativity story in a fresh and physically distanced way. Congregants created scenes, and then, by following maps provided by the church, drove from house to house. At each stop, they read their por- tion of the story, waved to friends and celebrated Christmas together.
St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Picton, Ont., added a fire pit, straw bales and spectacular lighting to its property around the labyrinth so that they could share coffee hour after worship inside, as well as gather around the fire after community hikes and labyrinth walks. Although these were “pandemic initiatives,” congregants will continue to take up sacred practice and community togetherness outside.
Cornerstone, a mission of Knox Presby- terian Church in Dunnville, Ont., held a Christmas celebration at the farm of its founder, the Rev. Nicole Reid. Everyone enjoyed hot chocolate, cookies, puzzles, carolling and setting off fireworks in the bonfire.